Published by Amicus Ink

Summary:  In this follow-up to A Tiny Brown Monkey on the Big Blue Earth, a little round panda munches bamboo on a hill covered with mist.  A path leads from the hill to a river where people board a boat and travel down the river to a big city.  Lights blink from tall buildings that shine into the sky of the big blue earth.  Endpapers show the panda sitting in the Sichuan Province of China at the center of a map with the Yangtzee River, Indian Ocean, country of China, and continents of Asia, Europe, and Africa all labeled. 32 pages; ages 4-8.

Pros:  We’ve seen books before that start at a certain geographic point and slowly move out into space.  This one starts with a cute panda and moves to different locations in China with beautiful illustrations that warrant close examination.  This would be a great introduction to maps for younger kids.

Cons:  Except for the endpapers there was no back matter.

Published by Candlewick

Summary:  A couple tells their child the many different meanings of saying Black Lives Matter.  It can be whispered, screamed, sung, or sobbed to celebrate the lives of Black people, to remember what was done to them in the past, and to protest wrongs still being done to them.  The rhyming text highlights words with different fonts and shapes.  The illustrations show the baby growing up until the last page, “We see you, Black-child-magic, your radiant Black shine/We hear your Black Lives Matter, and we know we’ll be all right,” shows him in a cap and gown holding a diploma triumphantly in the air.  32 pages; grades 1-4.

Pros:  The many different facets of the Black Lives Matter movement are addressed here with beautiful watercolor pencil and collage illustrations filled with colors and shapes.  The rhyming text flows smoothly and is well-integrated into the illustrations. 

Cons:  I’d love to see this considered for the Coretta Scott King Award, but the author is Australian, so I don’t think that it qualifies.

Published by Little Brown Books for Young Readers

Summary:  Before 9/11, the Callery pear tree stood, mostly unnoticed, in the shadow of the Twin Towers.  “One September day, the perfect blue sky exploded,” and the tree was buried in the rubble.  Workers noticed a green sprout growing out of it, and the tree was taken to a nursery where it gradually came back to life and flourished for the next ten years.  Eventually, it was transplanted back to the 9/11 Memorial, where people now stop and marvel at the tree, now known as the Survivor Tree, the last living thing pulled from the wreckage of the World Trade Center.  Includes additional information about the tree, an author’s note, an artist’s note, and a photo.  48 pages; grades K-5.

Pros:  This beautiful book tells the story of the Survivor Tree in sparse, poetic language, with watercolor illustrations by Caldecott honoree Aaron Becker.  The same tale is told from the tree’s perspective in another 2021 book, This Very Tree.  I’d be hard-pressed to choose one over the other; both offer stories and illustrations that will engage younger readers with enough back matter to make them excellent resources for older kids.

Cons:  I wish this book had been released prior to August 31 so I could have reviewed it in time for the twentieth anniversary of 9/11.